D/L target was slightly unfair on India

Tags: India tour of New Zealand, 2014, India, New Zealand

Published on: Jan 23, 2014

It rarely happens that a team chasing gets more runs than the side batting first and yet is declared the loser. India faced such a situation during the second ODI on Wednesday at Hamilton.

It rarely happens that a team chasing gets more runs than the side batting first and yet is declared the loser. India faced such a situation during the second ODI on Wednesday at Hamilton. New Zealand batted first and garnered 271 for 7 in their allotted 42 overs. In response, India managed 277 for 9 in 41.3 overs, and yet ended up losing the match by 15 runs. This is because the Duckworth/Lewis method meant they were set a target of 293 in 41.3 overs to square the series 1-1.

The D/L method works on the basis that if the team batting first keeps wickets in hand, the target for the opponent would be that much higher in terms of runs. In the Hamilton ODI though the logic didn’t quite fit right. India, who bowled 42 overs at New Zealand, actually managed to claim seven New Zealand wickets. This means that had the game lasted the full 50 overs, there was a fair possibility of the Indians bowling out the New Zealanders. In a practical sense then India should actually have been chasing a lower target since they managed to pick up so many wickets. The situation at Hamilton calls for a review of the D/L method.

Keeping the target aside though, it must be said that India could still have won the match had they batted and bowled a little better. Ishant Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin, two of India’s most experienced bowlers, were disappointing yet again, and their place for the third ODI at Auckland will definitely come under scanner. Sharma’s performance in particular has been baffling. True, it is tough being a fast bowler in one-dayers, but the lanky pacer hasn’t made any effort to improve. When the need of the hour is to bowl yorkers, he keeps sending down length balls, which disappear into the stands. One wonders whether he has the ability to learn.

It would be unfair to be too harsh on Ashwin since there is not a lot for the spin bowlers in New Zealand pitches. Still, he has failed to keep the runs down while not picking up wickets. Dhoni had mentioned in an interview recently that a spinner’s role changes abroad, where he has to do more of a containing role, and if he picks up wickets it will be a bonus. Ashwin has failed in this aspect because he hasn’t been able to maintain a tight line and length and batsmen have been able to get after him. Ironically, two of the most inexperienced bowlers, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, have been the most effective, managing to get the ball in the block hole rather consistently.

India’s batting also let them down at Hamilton. They needed a good start from Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, who let them down again. Basically, India’s batting was poor overall once again, with the exception of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. The team’s overreliance on the two men came to the fore yet again. The constant failures in both the batting and the bowling department calls for some changes as the team heads to Auckland to try and stay alive in the series.

--By A Cricket Analyst

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